Etihad Airways showcases innovation to royalty at Dubai Airshow

Dubai Airshow, UAE – Etihad Airways today welcomed a Royal delegation to its aircraft display on the opening day of the Dubai Airshow 2017.

The UAE's national
airline is displaying three aircraft at this year’s edition of the bi-annual
event – an Airbus A380, an Airbus A320 “flying testbed” and an Embraer Phenom
100E from the Etihad Flight College (EFC).

Peter Baumgartner,
Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said: “We were delighted to welcome
Royal guests who visited our aircraft on the opening day of the Dubai Airshow.
We presented our groundbreaking interiors aboard the A380; innovation and
technical excellence on our A320 testbed aircraft; and our Emirati ‎cadets from
the Etihad Flight College whose engagement with visitors is a great source of
national pride.”

Etihad Airways' A380 on
display is the same aircraft ‎that took part in the spectacular low fly-by over
the Louvre Abu Dhabi at the museum’s official opening yesterday. With its four
engines adorned in official Louvre Abu Dhabi logos, Etihad Airways’ A380
superjumbo interiors boast features which are inspired by the museum’s iconic
dome and its ‘Rain of Light’ effect. These include ceiling designs and light
projections in the boarding zones, Lobby Lounge, First Class and The Residence
cabins of the A380s, and stylised sconce lighting in the Business Studios which
imitate the way sunlight streams through the fronds of palm trees in a desert
oasis.

Onboard, members of the
Etihad Design Consortium who were instrumental in the aircraft’s award-winning
design – from seating across all classes to the galleys to the overall
innovation process – impressed visitors with their fascinating insights into
the cabin development process.

The Etihad Aviation
Group’s role at the forefront of aviation innovation was reinforced on the A320
“flying testbed”, which has been converted to showcase WI-FLY+, the new,
superfast inflight connectivity developed by Yahsat, the UAE based satellite
operator; Etihad Airways Engineering; telecommunications company du; and
technology partners Hughes Network Systems and Carlisle Interconnect. Achieving
speeds of more than 50Mbps in recent trials, Dubai Airshow guests are able to
experience the next-generation system for themselves by accessing HD streaming
content such as YouTube or Netflix.

The third facet of the
display is Etihad Flight College’s Embraer Phenom 100E. EFC was the first
flight college in the world to conduct abinitio flight training on the
aircraft. It is also the first Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) programme with
all jet training.